14 Best Occupational Therapy Treatment Ideas for Men

Looking for occupational therapy treatment ideas for men? Here is a list for you!

In my treatment sessions, I strive to provide client-centered, occupation based treatments when possible, as I believe “occupations” have no gender, but working in a rural farming community, there definitely are, generally speaking, different occupation based interventions that my men clients gravitate toward compared to women. I can honestly say that I haven’t had too many men that are interested in helping decorate a therapy room for a holiday while working on dynamic balance or creating May Day baskets for their neighbors while focusing on dexterity.

Everyone has different interests, ideas and things that are important to them and I definitely want to cater my occupational therapy activities to these differences.

That being said, I have put together a list of occupational therapy treatment ideas for older adults, specifically men  – think along the lines of working in their garage, sheds, pottering around the garden or fixing things. As we all know, this list is not all inclusive, but as long as my patients are participating in a client-centered task, it is going to be a great session in my book!

You can use these basic activities to work on a huge variety of areas – everything from activity tolerance and balance, to executive function, a sensory diet or fine motor activities. Use your activity analysis skills to determine how the task can be modified to achieve the goals you are working on.

 

In addition, occupational therapy kits are a great ways to have all the supplies you need, ready to go, which eliminates all the running around, trying to figure out what you need when, let’s be honest, you probably need it right now…

14 Occupational Therapy Treatment Ideas for Geriatrics – Specifically Men

 

Worn Furniture:  replace material, fix legs, re-stain wood, putty holes, etc

Crack out the Toolkit: any project that uses hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc

Paint: anything that needs painting/re-painting – benches, birdhouses, fences, kits (ex. car, birdfeeders), etc

Gardening: get outside and plant, dig, weed, etc or use an occupation based kit with some of these supplies ready to go

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Electrical Wiring (University of Utah College of Health – Division of OT): wiring kits, bring items from home or they sell simple kits at hardware stores

Car Washing (University of Utah College of Health – Division of OT): great way to get outside

 

Pet Care (University of Utah College of Health – Division of OT): put together an occupation based kit with everything including cat litter, dog food, watering bowls, etc

Plumbers Puzzle or Plumbers Tools: set up patterns to replicate or make designs, use teflon tape to put pieces together

Fix It: take apart and put back together flashlights, smoke detectors, remote controls, remote control cars

Small Engine: have a lawn mower that needs tinkering?, small gas motors to assemble/disassemble using a collection of tools – screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, etc

Organize/Sort: tackle boxes, nuts and bolts, etc (be sure to check out all of the fine motor ideas here).

Build It: Use kits or scrap material/wood to create something new – birdhouses, benches, shelves, boxes, anything they need in their own living space?

 

 

Games: Wii, horseshoes, bocce ball, poker, blackjack and a few more games/activities here

Creating Shopping List: working on cognition as well? Add a list building component to list out what is needed, where to get the items, who to call, etc

What Occupational Therapy Treatment Ideas Would You Add to the List?